This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for controlling the operation of an elevator system at the occurrence of an earthquake, in which the seismic intensity of the earthquake is presumed.
A method of and apparatus for the controlled operation of an elevator at the occurrence of an earthquake are stated in, for example, the Building Standards Act of Japan and the Enforcement Ordinance of the Act, "Interpretation of Technical Standards of Elevators", Appendix: Guide to Earthquake-proof Designs and Executions of Elevators (pp. 255-260). This example of the prior art is illustrated in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B) by the flow of the controlled operation of a common elevator at the occurrence of an earthquake, and in FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) by the flow of the controlled operation of an emergency elevator at the occurrence of an earthquake.
Regarding the common elevator, two sorts of seismic sensors which are respectively set to a "particularly low" set value of, for example, 30 gals and a "low" set value of, for example, 60 gals or a seismic sensor which is adapted to be set in two stages are/is disposed in a place near the elevator, such as a machinery room. The set values (in gals) are changed depending upon the heights of the buildings, and some set values are old. For such reasons, various items of data are used. By way of example, the elevator is operated in controlled fashion according to any set value indicated in FIG. 8, namely, according to a situation in which the seismic sensor is operated at the corresponding set value.
Referring to FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B), in a case where only the seismic sensor having the particularly low set value is operated, and thereafter, the seismic sensor having the low set value is not operated, the operation of a traveling cage is once stopped at the nearest floor, and the operation of the elevator is reset to the usual operation thereof after a predetermined period of time. If the seismic sensor having the low set value is operated simultaneously or successively, the cage is stopped at the nearest floor, and the door thereof is opened to safely allow the passengers to exit, whereupon the operation of the elevator is ceased. In this case, the elevator needs to be reset to the usual operation after it has been inspected by the technical expert thereof.
However, in case of the common elevator which has an express zone, as noted down in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B), a three-stage setting system is adopted, and a "high" set value such as 100 gals is further provided beforehand. In order to prevent the operation of the sensor of the low set value from stopping the cage within the express zone and leaving the passengers confined in the cage, the cage is once stopped, and thereafter, it is caused to arrive at the nearest floor at low speed upon acknowledging the normality of a safety circuit, as long as the seismic sensor of the high set value is not operating. Thus, the operation of the elevator is ceased as in the foregoing.
On the other hand, the emergency elevator is furnished with seismic sensors which have the three-stage set values of "particularly low", "low" and "high" seismic intensity values, as noted down in FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B). When only the seismic sensor having the particularly low set value is operated, operations similar to those in FIG. 6 proceed. However, in a case where a situation, such as the operation of the seismic sensor having the low set value, further arose, a specified controlled operation to be described below is carried out in order to quickly restore the elevator operation.
Even in case of the operation of the sensor of the low set value, unless the sensor of the high set value is operated, it is permitted to make a trial run at low speed, make a fire-fighting run and restore the elevator to the usual operation, after the elevator operation is once ceased.
Meanwhile, an elevator system is sometimes equipped with a derailment detector capable of detecting the situation that a counterweight for a cage came off a rail at the occurrence of an earthquake. In this case, the derailment detector is used conjointly with the seismic sensors, and whichever operates, the operation of the elevator is ceased as indicated in a flow chart of FIG. 9.
The prior-art method of the controlled operation of the elevator at the occurrence of an earthquake is performed according to the flow as stated above. Therefore, the ceases of the operations of the elevators are required in case of the occurrence of a very intense earthquake at which the seismic sensor of the high set value operates. However, in case of the occurrence of a somewhat great earthquake at which the sensor of the low set value operates, the emergency elevator and the common elevator are controlled in different ways. That is, regarding the emergency elevator, even at the operation of the seismic sensor of the low set value, unless the sensor of the high set value is operated, the restoration to the usual operation is permitted on an occasion where the absence of any problem on safety has been determined by making a trial run at low speed. In contrast, regarding the common elevator, when the sensor of the low set value is operated, the elevator is stopped, and it cannot be reset to the usual operation unless it is inspected by a technical expert.
Thus, in the case of the operations of the seismic sensors of the low set values, numerous elevators cease to operate in a considerably extensive region, and they cannot be restored unless a large number of technicians are mobilized for a very long time in order to inspect them one by one. Moreover, each seismic sensor is set with an allowance for a higher degree of safety in consideration of human lives, etc. Therefore, even when the sensor of the low set value is operated, actually the situation in which the devices of the elevator are damaged arises very infrequently. In most of the elevators, the technical experts' inspections result in vain services in which the seismic sensors are merely reset without making any special repairs, etc., whereupon the elevators are restored to the usual operations.
In this manner, the urgent services concentrate in a section which administrates the elevators. Accordingly, there has been the problem that the elevators being highly public cease for long periods of time expended on the restoration services. Summary of the Invention:
This invention has been made in order to solve the problem mentioned above, and has for its object to provide a method of and an apparatus for the controlled operation of an elevator system at the occurrence of an earthquake, in which the propriety of the operation of the ceased elevator system can be determined quickly after the occurrence of the earthquake.
With the method of and apparatus for the controlled operation of an elevator system at the occurrence of an earthquake according to this invention, the seismic intensity data of a specified elevator system is obtained in order to estimate a seismic intensity at the occurrence of the earthquake, and the seismic intensity in the elevator system within a predetermined region is presumed on the basis of the obtained data.
Further, the propriety of the restoration of the operation of the elevator system is determined according to the presumption.
Still further, a trial run is commanded upon a judgment based on the presumed seismic intensity, and the elevator operation is restored when the absence of any abnormality has been confirmed through the travel of the trial run.